She spent her entire life watching the Windsor-Detroit border change. When she was just seven years old, she watched the crowds gather on the Ambassador Bridge after it opened in 1929. Things changed a century later as 102-year-old Rita Georgeff walked across another landmark, connecting her hometown of Windsor, Ontario with Detroit, Michigan. Initially, Rita Georgeff had planned to walk across the Gordie Howe International Bridge for her 100th birthday. But due to construction delays, she had to wait another two years. On September 1, a few days after her 102nd birthday on August 28, Georgeff finally made the walk she had been waiting for. The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened to traffic on July 27 while its multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists opened on August 5.
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From the Ambassador Bridge to the Gordie Howe bridge
The story of Rita Georgeff hits different because she has seen the two major bridges connecting Windsor and Detroit at vastly different points in her life.
In an interview to CTV News, she recalled attending an anniversary celebration for the Ambassador Bridge when she was seven years old. “There were just mounds and mounds and mounds of people on the bridge,” she said. The Ambassador Bridge, a suspension bridge connecting Windsor and Detroit, opened in 1929.
Decades later, Georgeff watched another bridge take shape across the Detroit River. But this time, she did not want to simply watch from the sidelines because she wanted to walk across it, all by herself.
Her birthday wish had to wait two years
Rita Georgeff had originally planned to walk the bridge when she turned 100. But since the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge was delayed, her birthday wish had to be put on hold. When she turned 102, the the pedestrian trail finally opened. Georgeff celebrated the milestone with a group of friends, setting out on the bridge on September 1. One friend even asked whether he should bring a walker in case she wanted to stop and rest but Rita Georgeff had other plans.
“No, that’s alright, she may need a seat,” she said, gesturing toward a younger friend. She then began the walk. “Oh gosh, I’m doing it!” she said in CTV News' report.
The 102-year-old ended up leading the group
Georgeff was younger than most of her friends in the group but that didn't stop the 102-year-old from leading the way along the bridge. When another friend asked whether she was still okay to continue, Georgeff had a simple response. “I don’t see why not!”
Pedestrians walking along the bridge also noticed her and some even stopped to congratulate her, while others took selfies with the centenarian. Among them were Jackie and Larry Craig, who said Georgeff's determination had left an impression on them. “She’s such an inspiration for us,” Jackie Craig told CTV News. “I’m 70, and we’re like, if she can do it...” “We’re hoping to be able to do that, definitely, in 32 years!”
She walked across one of North America's longest bridges
Rita Georgeff acknowledged that the bridge was “quite an incline.” But she continued far enough to look up at its enormous cables and take in the view over the Detroit River. The Gordie Howe International Bridge stretches about 1.5 miles and is a cable-stayed bridge with an 853-metre main span, making it the longest cable-stayed bridge in North America. After taking in the view, Georgeff and her friends turned around and headed back toward Canadian soil.
Her verdict on the new landmark was characteristically matter-of-fact. “The Gordie Howe International Bridge is really a feat of good engineering,” she said. Her friends had been waiting two years to see her finally complete the walk. “We were so happy to be able to do this with Rita,” friend Gail Bondy told CTV News. “We’ve been waiting for two years.”
And Georgeff isn't setting herself an extravagant goal for the year ahead. Asked what she wants for her 103rd birthday, she gave a simple answer: “That I reach my birthday, actually,” she said, with a laugh.
